The 2016 APS Emerging Writer Fellowships

News• October 1, 2015

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We are pleased to announce that applications are now open for our 2016 Emerging Writer Fellowships. Under this project, three emerging writers will be selected for six-month fellowships, which will include:

– A mentorship from an established author who has previously contributed to A Public Space;
– Publication in the magazine;
– A contributor's payment of $1,000;
– Free workspace in our Brooklyn offices (optional).

Leslie Jamison, Jack Livings, Amy Leach, Michael Thomas, Nam Le, Colin Barrett, and Jesmyn Ward were all emerging writers when their work first appeared in A Public Space, and with these fellowships we hope to continue the tradition of supporting new writers whose work shows distinctive and exceptional talent. Our focus when reviewing applications will be on finding writers who have not yet published or been contracted to write a book-length work and who would benefit from the time, space, and editorial attention the fellowships offer. You can read about our last three Emerging Writer Fellows and their mentors here.

To apply you will need to submit, via the APS Emerging Writer Fellowships category on our Submittable page: (1) a previously unpublished short story or essay, and (2) a cover letter that includes biographical information about you, including your email and postal address, the title and word count of your piece, and any publication credits to date. (The lack of any publication credits won’t count against you.) Please also state whether you would wish to take advantage of the residency at our Brooklyn office. Applicants from all across the world are encouraged to apply for these fellowships. The residency element in our offices is optional.

In previous years we have also asked applicants to include in their cover letter a paragraph about a piece of writing that has been important to them. This year, as we prepare to publish our next A Public Space Book, Cities I’ve Never Lived In, Sara Majka’s debut story collection, we’ve been thinking about the influence of place. With this in mind, we’re asking you to include a paragraph in your cover letter about a place that has been important to your writing. You are free to interpret this as you wish – there is no right or wrong interpretation of place.

There is no fee for applying for these fellowships, but please note that we can only accept applications through the proper category on Submittable and that we will not be able to consider email or postal applications. Please only submit one application per author. There is no lower or upper word limit on submissions. If the piece you are submitting with your application has already been sent to A Public Space as part of our general submissions process, please indicate this clearly in your cover letter. Pieces we have previously declined to publish should not be submitted as part of your application. We regret that we are only able to consider submissions in English.

We reserve the right to call in submissions. Applications that do not follow the guidelines will not be considered.

The deadline for applications is 5pm EST on November 15, 2015. Successful applicants will be informed no later than February 4, 2016. The fellowship period will be March 1, 2016 – September 1, 2016.